Writing the Story

During the summer and fall of 2003 I had been working with my good friend Steve vonPhul to help him with his new company, D-Foam Inc. http://www.d-foam.com Due to some unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances, I had a lot more free time than I ever anticipated.

So I decided to write.

Making that conscious decision seemed to open up a door inside of my mind. Very shortly thereafter, while sitting quietly, the name of the story came to me. It has not changed since that moment.

At the risk of sounding corny, much of this story was given to me; by whom, I am not sure yet. There were times when the words just spilled out as fast as I could type them. At the end of a section or scene or chapter I often would sit quietly and wait for the next one to come. Sometimes it would come quickly, other times it would be several days or a week. This type of creativity has been described by many people throughout the ages and I would have been skeptical if it hadn’t happened to me. Those times were exhilarating and a little bit scary because there was an element of not really being in control. In other times the story was just grinded out; those parts were the engineer in me coming through.

The main body of the story was written over the course of about five months. I made some inquiries to a handful of literary agents to test the waters, but received only polite no-thank-you’s. The story then sat on a shelf for several years, getting only some minor edits on scenes that I didn’t like. Every once in a while I would pick it up and read it cover to cover, trying to look at it with a fresh outlook, trying to see if it was a good, well written story or an amaturish attempt at literary glory. Finally, in the fall of 2006, I made a substantial rewrite on one of the early chapters to reduce some of the jumping around in time problem that I had identified earlier and called it done.

I suppose that later in life I’ll figure out why this story now. While I clearly had some emotional baggage from my days and nights working at the Major Confectionary Manufacturer here in Waco, there is more to it than that. I truly believe that each of us has a story to tell, but we are culturally conditioned to believe that we’re not good enough, or that people will laugh at our work or somehow judge us inferior.

Don’t believe the naysayings of your ego; tell your story, even if it is only for you. Your angel is standing behind you, a smile on their face, joy in their heart.

3 comments

WOW !!!!!!
I had NO idea!!!
I want to purchase one , because I KNEW you when your nose was still running!- BUT I have to wait until Alex gets home because I don’t even know what an e-book is !!!!
CONGRATS you old fart!!!! 🙂

There were so many things I loved about this book. It made me feel calm. My best friend and the love of my life reminds me daily that answers are truly obtainable and simple concerning life. But I don’t always slow down enough to listen. Your book was a beautiful reminder to do just that. As a public school teacher, I see daily the restrictions and limitations we put on our students as well as what they put on themselves concerning their capabilities and potential. Your book reminded me of why I am a teacher…”to bring a spark of light to others. That spark will grow in ways you cannot yet imagine.” The romantic side of me has to say that I loved the part where Mason holds Anne as she drifts off to sleep in his arms on the beach, listening to the waves and breeze.
You’re no ordinary guy Tom Carroll. Thanks for touching our lives.
L.